A new book! Can you imagine?
This Yoko Ono biography is years in the making.
Depending on when you start counting, CAN YOU IMAGINE? THE ART AND LIFE OF YOKO ONO is either six or 20 years in the making.
The seeds were planted when I interviewed Yoko Ono in 2005 in her home at the Dakota. She was a striking presence — somehow both down-to-earth and otherworldly. I was moved when she described enduring public scorn for so many years without shrinking from the spotlight. As a people-pleaser, it was hard for me to, er, imagine.
At the time, I hadn’t dreamed of writing for children. Years later, after I wrote my first picture book, HOW TO BE A ROCK STAR, I wanted to connect my love of journalism and nonfiction with my new love of writing for children. I saw an old newspaper clipping of that interview with Yoko, and the idea was born.
My editor, Alyza Liu, had the vision to reach out to Yas Imamura to illustrate, and I’m blown away by her beautiful art. You can read more about our collaboration in this PEN Ten interview.
I hope the strength of Yoko’s character and her example of radical imagination will inspire children to dream their way into a better world. Or as Yoko put it, “A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality.”
You can order a signed copy at Books of Wonder or Community Bookstore. (If you want it personalized, just add a note!) You can also help an author by requesting books at your local library, sharing it on social, or posting a review on Goodreads, Barnes & Noble, or Amazon.
A Few Books I Love
I’ve been reading so many great picture books lately, between ALA award winners and year-end “best of” lists. Here are a few gems you might have missed!
You Are My Everything, by Kelly Conroy and Abigail Hookham. I keep meaning to ask Kelly Conroy to do a “whatcha reading” post. Kelly writes in effortless rhyme, and this adorable board book is my new go-to gift for babies.
Nothing: John Cage and 4’33” by Nicholas Day and Chris Raschka, and Marina Abramovic Turned Herself Into Art and Wasn't Sorry, by Fausto Gilberti. These delightful, mind-bending picture book biographies would be excellent companion books to Can You Imagine?, just sayin’.
Bear in a Bathrobe, by Maddie Frost. In this funny and warm-hearted picture book, bear loves her fuzzy bathrobe and thinks going outside is a bit overrated. Same, bear. Same.